Quiz
A horror writer named Lisa Morton posted the following quiz on the blog of the Horror Writers Association L.A. Chapter as a way to determine if you are a real writer, a pro, rather than a hobbyist. According to Morton, you need to answer yes to at least eight questions in order to be a pro. I have printed her questions in bold and my answers in regular typeface.
1. Is your home/work place messy because that time you’d put into cleaning it is better spent writing?
No. I like neatness. I admit that my filing is backed up.
2. Do you routinely turn down evenings out with friends because you need to be home writing instead?
No. I don't like to go out in the evening. My friends know this and rarely ask me. When I do go, it's usually to attend my fiction writing group.
3. Do you turn off the television in order to write?
No. I don't own a TV.
4. Would you rather receive useful criticism than praise?
I'm 50-50 on this one. Useful criticism is useful. But I love praise.
5. Do you plan vacations around writing opportunities (either research or networking potential)?
No. Though the places I see on vacation may turn up in later fiction.
6. Would you rather be chatting about the business of writing with another writer than exchanging small talk with a good friend?
Yes. I don't like small talk one bit. My friends are mostly writers of fiction, poets, critics, journalists, reviewers, serious readers and so on. Any conversation is likely to be about writing, though not necessarily writing as a business.
7. Have you ever taken a day job that paid less money because it would give you more time/energy/material to write?
Yes.
8. Are you willing to give up the nice home you know you could have if you devoted that time you spend writing to a more lucrative career?
No. Living in a garret has never appealed to me.
9. Have you done all these things for at least five years?
No.
10. Are you willing to live knowing that you will likely never meet your ambitions, but you hold to those ambitions nonetheless?
Probably not. A sane person has ambitions that are achievable. When you are young, you may not know what you can achieve. At my age, you ought to have some idea. I would like to have more money and more fame, but I'm not going to bend myself out a shape trying to get either. At this point, my main ambition is to continue writing and have a pleasant old age.
*
A lot of writers have posted their answers to this quiz. Everyone I've read has failed the quiz. Neil Gaiman claims that he answered no to every question.
1. Is your home/work place messy because that time you’d put into cleaning it is better spent writing?
No. I like neatness. I admit that my filing is backed up.
2. Do you routinely turn down evenings out with friends because you need to be home writing instead?
No. I don't like to go out in the evening. My friends know this and rarely ask me. When I do go, it's usually to attend my fiction writing group.
3. Do you turn off the television in order to write?
No. I don't own a TV.
4. Would you rather receive useful criticism than praise?
I'm 50-50 on this one. Useful criticism is useful. But I love praise.
5. Do you plan vacations around writing opportunities (either research or networking potential)?
No. Though the places I see on vacation may turn up in later fiction.
6. Would you rather be chatting about the business of writing with another writer than exchanging small talk with a good friend?
Yes. I don't like small talk one bit. My friends are mostly writers of fiction, poets, critics, journalists, reviewers, serious readers and so on. Any conversation is likely to be about writing, though not necessarily writing as a business.
7. Have you ever taken a day job that paid less money because it would give you more time/energy/material to write?
Yes.
8. Are you willing to give up the nice home you know you could have if you devoted that time you spend writing to a more lucrative career?
No. Living in a garret has never appealed to me.
9. Have you done all these things for at least five years?
No.
10. Are you willing to live knowing that you will likely never meet your ambitions, but you hold to those ambitions nonetheless?
Probably not. A sane person has ambitions that are achievable. When you are young, you may not know what you can achieve. At my age, you ought to have some idea. I would like to have more money and more fame, but I'm not going to bend myself out a shape trying to get either. At this point, my main ambition is to continue writing and have a pleasant old age.
*
A lot of writers have posted their answers to this quiz. Everyone I've read has failed the quiz. Neil Gaiman claims that he answered no to every question.
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